Bicycle accessory



July 25, 1950 E. SOKOLIK BICYCLE ACCESSORY Filed Aug. 15, 1946 IN V EN TOR.

Patented July 25, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENTI OFFICE BICYCLE ACCESSORY Edward Sokolik, New Brighton, Minn.

Application August 15, 1946, Serial No. 690,741

My present invention relates to improvements in a yieldable holder or gripping means to stabilize bicycles during parking thereof.

The principal object is to provide a holder to prevent, during the parking of a bicycle, automatic swiveling of the steering wheel thereof to maintain equilibrium of the bicycle and consequently prevent tumbling of the bicycle.

An important object is to provide a holder adapted to be adjusted by raising or lowering thereof, upon the front oblique frame tube of the bicycle frame for effective cooperation with the fender of the steering wheel.

A further important object is to provide a holder that is associated. with the front tubular oblique member of the frame and operative therefrom upon the fender of the steering wheel.

Another important object is to provide a holder that is adapted to adjustable gripping cooperation with the fender of the steering wheel.

Another object is to provide a holder that is very light and compact.

A still further object is to provide a holder which if not manually disengaged from the fender before the steering wheel is steerably swiveled, is automatically yieldingly released from the fender, thereby preventing damage to the fender or the holder.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as the specification proceeds.

The invention resides in the structure, arrangement, combination and assembly of the component elements.

Like reference characters represent like parts in all the drawing views:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a bicycle showing the holder mounted on the frame thereof.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the holder.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the holder.

Figure 4 is a view on line 4 4, Figure 3 showing the spring which yieldingly controls the adjustability of the slidably lowering or raising Of the sliding rack.

Figure 5 is a cross-section of the holder on line 5-5, Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a cross-section on line 6'5, Figure 3 of the spring for yieldingly engaging the baclr of the fender, mounted on the bottom end-portion of the sliding rack.

One embodiment of the inventioncomprises a holder which includes a spring clamp 7 made of spring ribbon having a narrow eiongated slot guideway 9a which is rectangular in cross-section and the slot guideway is provided with a rec- 9 Claims. (01. 28Q-272) 2 tanguiar guideway slot ii. A spring arm 8 formed integrally with the rear of the slot guideway is bent to form a loop with the end of the spring arm portion Hi loosely and yieldably abutting the rear of the housing. The arms 8 and I El fit around the front oblique member I I of the bicycle frame'and' the end of'the arms 8 and In converging and meet at the center of the slot guideway. Each arm portion 8 and it is medially provided with a hole ii. The spring clamp l is slidably' adjustable upon the front tubular oblique member I i of the frame of the bicycle so'that the assembled holder can operatively engage the front fender 26. A bolt I4 is inserted through holes'ls in arms 8 and I9 and bolt' 'ld is provided with a bevel washer [2 on the external side of each arm 8 and ill of the clamp l and screwthreadably fastening the clamp T to the member I I.

Formed from a narrow ribbon of spring metal into a rectangularbody portion is a spring pawl 2i which engages the top', bottom, front and rear sides of'the housing 9a. The top 23 and bottom 24 of spring 2| have narrow rectangular slots 25 formed therein and a portion of these slots 25 register with the slot 9' in the slot guideway 9a. portion of the slots 25 in'the top and bottom of the spring 2 l extends over the end of the slot 9 in slot guideway 9a. 'Ihe side 26 of the rectangular duplex spring-pawl 2i is straight and prevents the top and bottom from spreading during the raising or lowering of a sliding rack through the guideway 9a, and the other side 21 is inwardly arcuate and is the part of the spring 2% that has the function of yielding.

Telescopically mounted through the slot 9 of the slot guideway 9 and the slots 25 in the top 23 and bottom 24 ofthe spring 2! is a sliding rack 15, which is preferably a bar of the same width and thickness as the s'lotS in the slot guideway 9a but narrower than the slots 25 in the top 23 and bottom 2d of the spring 2!. That portion of the rack 25 that slides through the said slot Q in the slot guideway or housing 9a and through the slots 25 of spring 2| has one edge as indicated at It, formed of alternately bulging or receding teeth 01' waves ll having rounded edges permitting adjustable setting of the rack It in the slot 9 of the housing ta and "slots 25 of the spring 2!. The teeth I"! are so arranged on the bar l5 that the receding waves ll slide-against the edge of the slots 25 in the top 23 and bottom 24 at the same time, when the rack 15 is being shifted, thereby causing the top 23 and bottom 24 of spring-pawl 2| to-be moved simultaneously and alternately laterally. Therefore the adjustment of the bar I5 up and down in the slotway 9a moves the spring-pawl 2| laterally to and fro. When the spring-pawl 2 I is releasedly interlocked in the receding waves between the bulging waves [7, the rack IE will remain in such adjusted position until a predetermined pressure is applied on the bar I5, thereby overcoming the yielding resistance of spring-pawl 2| permitting the bar 15 to be moved to a different setting or position in the slot guideway 9a.

The length of the sliding rack l5 provided at the lower end 22 thereof with a yielding gripping means i9 is adapted to interlockingly engage the lower portion of the fender 20 f the steering wheel when raised, and to release the fender when lowered. The top end-portion l8 of the bar I is adapted to be manually operated. The lower end-portion 22 is adapted to hold the yieldable gripping means 19. The means I9 is transversely concave to contour to the transversely convex back of the fender 20 when in gripping engagement therewith. The gripping engagement may be of predetermined intensity depending on the degree that the sliding rack I5 is raised or lowered. But whatever the degree of intensity of the gripping means upon the fender 213, if the grip is not manually released before the steering wheel is steerably swiveled, the yielding gripping means 19 will automatically yieldingly release the fender 20, thereby preventing damage to the holder 1 or the fender 20.

It is to be understood that various other modifications may be resorted to within the scope and concept of the invention without afi-ecting the merits of the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with the front oblique member of a bicycle frame, of a manually operable holder to grip the fender of the steering wheel of a bicycle during the parking thereof to prevent tumbling of the bicycle, comprising a clamp adjustable upon said front oblique member of the bicycle frame, said clamp having a housing provided with slot guide; means to secure the clamp to the frame; a yielding means associated with the housing; a manually operable alternatively sliding element adapted to slide in the slot guide in the housing under the yielding fr ctional pressure of said yielding means, said sliding element being provided with a yielding gripping means adapted to grip the front fender of a bicycle "during the parking thereof to prevent the steering wheel from being automatically swiveled, thereby maintaining equilibrium of the bicycle and preventin tumbling of said bicycle, said yielding gripping means, if not manually disengaged from the fender by means of operating the sliding element before swiveling the steering wheel by manual steering of same, will automatically yieldingly release the front fender of the bicycle, thereby preventing damaging the fender or the holder by the manual steering thereof.

'2. Claim 1 as defined in which the sliding element is operable by uprightly raising and lowering same, thereby gripping and releasing the back of the arcuate lower portion of the fender respectively.

3. The combination with the front oblique member of a bicycle frame, of a manually operable holder to grip the fender of the steering wheel of a bicycle during the parking thereof to prevent tumbling of the bicycle, comprising a clamp adjustable upon said front oblique member of the bicycle frame, said clamp having a housing provided with a slot guide; means to secure the clamp to the frame; a yielding means associated with the housing; a manually operable sliding element adapted to slide in the slot guide of the housing and adapted to be adjusted from one setting to another setting in the slot of the housing when a predetermined force is applied to said element, said sliding element yieldingly interlocking with the yielding means subject to yielding release when said predetermined force is applied to the sliding element, said sliding element being provided with a yieldable gripping means adapted to grip the fender of a bicycle during the parking thereof to prevent the steering gear from being automatically swiveled, thereby maintaining equilibrium of the bicycle and preventing tumbling of said bicycle.

4. Claim 3 as defined in which the sliding element is operable by uprightly ra sing or lowering same, thereby releasing and gripping the back of the arcuate lower portion of the fender respectively.

5. Claim 3 as defined in which the portion of the sliding element that cooperates with the yielding means, is provided with a series of waves alternating inwardly and outwardly and cooperating with the yielding means, thereby being alternately interlockable in the inwardly alternating waves.

6. The combination with the front oblique member of a bicycle frame, of a manually operable holder to grip the fender of the steering Wheel of a bicycle during the parking thereof to prevent tumbling of the bicycle, comprising a clamp adjustable upon said front oblique me1nber of the bicycle frame, said clamp having a housing with a slot guide associated therewith: means to secure the clamp to the frame; a yielding means associated with the housing, said yielding means having a top, a bottom and at least one side, which is yieldingly arcuate inwardly, said top and bottom having each a slot formed therein and superimposing the top and bottom of the slot guide in the housing, said slots in the spring registering with the slot in the housing, except in the direction of the yielding arcuate side of the yielding means, in which direction the slots in the top and bottom of the yielding means are extended to permit lateral alternating shifting of the top and bottom of the yielding means; a manually operable sliding element adapted to slide in the slot of the housing, and in the slots of the top and bottom of the yielding means, and adapted to be adjusted from one setting to another setting in the slots of the top and bottom of the yielding means and yieldingly interlocking in the slots of the top and bottom of the yielding means subject to yielding release when a predetermined manual force is applied to the sliding element, said sliding element being provided with a yielding gripping means adapted to grip the front fender of a bicycle during the parking thereof to prevent the steering gear from being automatically swiveled, thereby maintaining equilib rium of the bicycle and preventing tumbling of said bicycle, said yielding gripping means, if not manually disengaged from the fender by means of the alternatively sliding element before swiveling the steering wheel by manual Steering of same, automatically yieldingly releasing the fender of the bicycle, thereby preventing damaging the fender or the holder by the manual steering thereof.

7. Claim 6 as defined in which the sliding element is operable by uprightly raising and lowering same, releasing and gripping the back of the arcuate lower portion of the fender respectively.

8. Claim 6 as defined in which the portion of the sliding element, that cooperates with the slots in the top and bottom of the yielding means, is provided with a series of waves alternating inwardly and outwardly and being spaced so that like waves cooperate with the slots in the top and bottom of the yielding means, thereby permitting uniform alternating lateral shifting of the top and bottom of the yielding means, into and out of the inwardly alternating waves, said sliding element being releasably interlockable in the inwardly alternating waves during to and fro movement thereof.

9. In a device of the class described, the combination with the front oblique member of a bicycle frame, of a manually operable holder comprising a clamp associated with the said oblique member of the frame, and provided with a slot guide; a yielding means associated with the slot guide; a manually operable sliding element adapted to slide in the slot guide and to cooperate with the yielding means; a yielding grip means associated with the sliding element, whereby said yielding grip means is moved against the back of the front fender to clutch same, and retracted from the fender to release same, said yielding grip means being adapted automatically, yieldingly to release said fender upon manually steering the steering gear, if said gripping means is not previously retracted, thereby preventing damage to the fender or to the holder.

EDWARD SOKOLIK.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Fastborg Feb. 11, 1947 Number 

